NHL Free Agency Tracker: Details On New Deals For Montour, Stamkos, Tarasenko, Skinner, More
OAKLAND, Calif. -- — Lawrence Butler homered, JP Sears won for the first time in more than a month, and the Oakland Athletics blanked the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday for a second straight game by the same 5-0 score to complete a three-game series sweep.
Miguel Andujar and Brent Rooker hit back-to-back RBI singles in the third and Tyler Soderstrom added a sacrifice fly in the decisive inning on a hot Independence Day in the Bay Area, with an announced holiday crowd of 11,956.
Oakland's pitching shut down an Angels lineup that had been on quite an offensive run.
“This offense that we faced had scored five or more runs in (seven) consecutive games, they had won six of their last seven, they swept us in Anaheim, beat a Detroit team at home, came here really confident and really swinging the bats well," A's manager Mark Kotsay said. “So our pitching staff really did a great job this series of controlling their offense, keeping the guys that had really been providing the offense at check and not giving away free bases.”
Sears (5-7) struck out six and walked one, allowing two hits over five innings to snap a six-start winless stretch since beating Houston on May 25. The left-hander had dropped his previous four decisions.
“It's contagious, you just want to do what the guy did before you,” Sears said.
The Angels lost a fourth straight game coming off a 5-0 shutout Wednesday. They were shut out in consecutive games for the first time since June 20-21, 2023 at home against the Dodgers.
The club now has a six-game losing streak at the Coliseum.
"It was just a tough overall series," said center fielder Kevin Pillar, who made several sparkling catches and said he was close to snagging Butler's eighth inning drive. “We were playing really good baseball at home, you got that off day, you come here, just playing these guys not a lot of secrets.”
Right-hander Roansy Contreras (1-1) walked two of the first three batters in the third to get in trouble, then gave up the run-scoring singles and a sacrifice fly before another walk — and that was it in his second start for the Angels. He lasted just 2 2/3 innings.
The Angels played the first of four straight day games as they head to Chicago to face the Cubs — their first visit to Wrigley Field since 2019.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Angels: OF Mike Trout hit on the field off a tee during Monday's off day and is running on a treadmill as he recovers from a torn meniscus in his left knee. Manager Ron Washington saw the video and said “he looked natural.” ... 3B Luis Rengifo was feeling better after exiting a night earlier with an injury on his lower right arm near the wrist after fouling a ball off it in the ninth inning. ... 3B Anthony Rendon (left hamstring strain) will return to regular third base duties when healthy, with some games at designated hitter as needed, Washington said.
Athletics: LHP Kyle Muller has rejoined the team from his rehab assignment and is expected to be activated from the injured list this weekend after dealing with tendinitis in his pitching shoulder.
UP NEXT
RHP Griffin Canning (3-8, 4.71 ERA) takes the mound for the Angels in the series opener with the Cubs. LHP Hogan Harris (1-2, 3.18) pitches for the A's in Friday’s series opener against Baltimore, which counters with RHP Albert Suárez (4-2, 2.43).
------
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
World Map 2020 10bbc3030163a5054e0dde2e27c2a3ed 91yiOnyqUaL Maxresdefault 41uxDuw3MwL. CR0,0,600,450 D81971c6 D24e 4ed1 B1e5 64ffd6c50377 ?auto=format&fit=crop&frame=1&h=512&w=1024340b6d770ace2302c1931f2db500654e 5c7f993b2c0cf1590e5569732151a688 81 EbBBQ3CL. AC UF1000,1000 QL80 2beaeb7a715871ffdd1265eeafdc0819 Hq2 ?sqp= OaymwEoCOADEOgC8quKqQMcGADwAQH4Ac4FgAKACooCDAgAEAEYTyBeKGUwDw==&rs=AOn4CLBUAgKpJQ 1paa2EuYc1vfFp2 BKA31893016@800 1584944771 0f4cf947d47853f302e311b0e0db3459 11114fb43430b4285f80aefc4d8369ec Ab728d5a5ef73237cd04dd3ee4e25a53 2026 Png.1623246b1943b96086ace0acc8a0bbb2071d2a BRM4351 Prohibition Map Of The United States 1915 Lowres 3000x2259 154917749 1 X ?height=512&quality=70&version=1686690552GUEST 4e24189f 4b1a 48dc Ba21 5c6dfba3f57fF896974ee0906803d365fdc861281a5e 412191 Download Free World Map High Resolution 1920x1080 For Mac 2023 05 Thumb 1200x630 World 1855 1900e8kbc 819bd261b192d338429116c7bde6d561 World Country Map Scaled 834738cec87c39752494ab3f45938268 C730b5b8ca2857a619d291472cf8ad27 6a8b93f4c3c3b464c7512f991c4965ac Bcc3d54609df380fc31818dd51f292ac Fn50pgsjkml81 2027 Png.649934